OMD on the ‘-er’ road in APAC
It was around 16 months ago that Digital Market Asia last conducted an interview with Steve Blakeman, CEO, OMD APAC, sharing a coffee with him on the Croisette in Cannes. OMD had just won the prestigious Gold Lion for ‘Media Agency of the Year’ and Mr Blakeman had described the achievement as ‘a dream come true’. If one thought OMD took its foot off the pedal just a little hence, there is another thought coming. That success merely seems to have galvanised the agency’s pursuit of increasingly higher objectives.
Now well into his fourth year as CEO, Mr Blakeman is as focussed as ever in maintaining and accelerating the momentum that his team and he have created. “At OMD, we are always in motion. We are always thinking, always asking and always doing more meaningful work for our clients. We share a common aspiration for sharper insights, smarter ideas and stronger results. It is the essence of our brand, and the defining characteristic of our people,” he stated in a conversation with DMA.
Faster, bigger, stronger
As is the case with any media agency, OMD’s response to how well it is performing is in terms of targets met. And that is one count where Mr Blakeman is bullish, despite the slowdown that some of the key markets in APAC have witnessed. “As a region, we have achieved a high water mark on every metric you can conceivably think of – new business, awards won, increases in staff etc. So what now? We challenge ourselves to grow even further. There is no motion, no improvement and no innovation in being the first, the biggest or the strongest. We continually strive to be faster, bigger and stronger. Our current performance is just the starting point of a journey forward,” Mr Blakeman divulged.
In terms of new business, OMD has experienced a considerable amount of success in an increasingly challenging environment. Over the past four years, according to published sources, OMD has added over USD 1.6 billion in billings which is over 20 per cent higher than its closest rival. In the past 12 months alone the agency has secured significant global wins including the likes of Heinz and Hasbro coupled with an impressive array of local wins such as Telkomsel in Indonesia.
Regionally, OMD has been busy adding more Beiersdorf business to its country roster with notable successes in China, Australia, Indonesia, India and most recently Thailand. When asked about how well OMD has performed against their rivals, Mr Blakeman’s answer is uncompromising, “We don’t measure ourselves against our contemporaries in the industry. We are only interested in the opinion of the harshest judges we know – ourselves. Each year we establish a new benchmark and our repeated aim is simple. Just do better.”
Innovation, creativity and effectiveness
The philosophy of constant improvement follows through on the awards front for instance. When Mr Blakeman joined OMD in 2011 they had won around 40 awards. That number grew to a record 144 awards in 2013. And the agency’s ambitious target for this year is 180 awards. “We use awards as a proxy for success in innovation, creativity and effectiveness. We also have a reputation to maintain as the world’s most creative media agency (OMD won the Gunn Report for an unprecedented eighth time last year) and recognition in APAC is vital to maintaining that accolade.” He seems most gratified with the increasing amount of digital awards that the agency has won recently such as Yahoo Digital Strategy Award (OMD New Zealand), three wins at the Mobile Marketing Association Awards (via their SBU, Airwave) and four wins at the Socialathon 2014. A clear indication as to how OMD is continuing its transformation into a digitally infused, multi-platform agency.
In last year’s conversation with DMA, Mr Blakeman had outlined three strategic areas that the agency had been focusing on – strengthening their positioning as a holistic communication partner versus a media agency, forging external partnerships and embracing technology. He credits the current upward growth trajectory to the continued pursuit of these goals. Technology especially is playing a significant part in the OMD way of life – both internally and from a marketplace viewpoint. The set up and adoption of the agency’s revolutionary operating system Vision brought tech advantage inside the agency. Mr Blakeman informs that all markets have embraced Vision through a systematic & intensive training schedule and via constant investment / development (eg. the OS is now functional in Mandarin).
Braver and bolder
According to Mr Blakeman, in addition to the three areas of strategic focus, OMD is also gearing up for the changes in the industry precipitated by ongoing automation. “Talent has always been at the forefront of our offering and will continue to be. We have over 2200 OMD’ers in APAC which is up almost 500 in the past four years. Increased automation will take away some of the more mundane facets of what we do and consequently the skills we covet will inevitably alter. In the past we wanted planners and buyers. Now we seek different types of people to cope with the demands of new ways of working. We want coders and engineers. We need trendsetters and trailblazers. People who are braver and bolder. Only by investing in the right talent now will ensure that we continue to innovate and keep us relentlessly moving forward,” he explained.
It’s not just the OMD business that is always in motion. As its CEO, Mr Blakeman himself lives by the same credo. APAC is a vast territory to cover, the largest region on the planet. Then there is the need to factor-in global pitches, client responsibilities, conferences and so on. It is no surprise hence that he is travelling constantly. Around 30-35 weeks of the year, as per his own admission. “Frankly the perpetual travel is not a part of the role that I particularly relish. It’s a necessary evil. To do the job effectively you need to cover the ground servicing clients and spending time with our people. I have tried to dial it back a bit. In fact I made a New Year resolution to travel less this year. I failed miserably. I’m on course to break the 400,000 mile barrier this year.” With a wry smile, he added, “Ah well, at least I suppose it’s another ‘higher’ proof point than the previous year.”
Being an APAC business leader
At the recently concluded dmexco, DMA caught up with Mr Blakeman’s boss, OMD’s Worldwide Chief, Mainardo de Nardis. When asked, what it takes to be a successful regional CEO, Mr de Nardis reflected, “Running a region is no simple task. It is an all-encompassing role with multiple metrics which determine what real success is in the marketplace. Steve’s brief when he joined us in 2011 was simple – do better across all those metrics than previously. I am delighted to say he has fulfilled that objective. Every single year. He is a dynamic leader, a strategic thinker and a people’s person. All essential skills to run a regional agency network in 2014. And here is something you may not know, he is also a fairly decent runner / bike rider. Albeit quite prone to accidents, but that’s a story for another time…”
When we asked Mr Blakeman to explain that particular statement, Mr Blakeman said quite matter-of-factly, “I was riding my bike last year and basically I fell off and hurt my arm quite badly. Mainardo thought I was mad when I started racing again a few months later. I’m guess I’m the same in business – I might get knocked down occasionally but I always get back up again.”
